Bradpole D-Day veteran Ronald Murphy given fitting send-off

Ronald Murphy, from Bradpole, died aged 98 on July 1 after a long life which saw him fight for his country.

His funeral was Holy Trinity Church in Bradpole on August 1 complete with a Royal Navy Merlin helicopter flypast from Yeovilton.

The aircraft flew at 500 feet over the coffin and acknowledged the mourners as it travelled over the village church. 

Mr Murphy's service also welcomed representatives from the Royal Navy and Royal British Legion and had several standard-bearers in attendance.

Born in Brockley, London, in August 1924, Mr Murphy joined the Home Guard at the age of 16 and volunteered for the Royal Navy at 17.

He served on combined ops under Mountbatten during the Second World War and was one of the brave allied soldiers who took part in the D-Day landings of June 1944, which killed 4,000 troops.

To mark Mr Murphy's bravery, several representatives paid their respects to the late soldier at his Dorset funeral.

After the conflict, he joined the Admiralty and worked on Portland for the Admiralty Underwater Weapons Establishment before he retired in 1984. 

Mr Murphy, who was also awarded an MBE in 1980, married his late Eileen in the late 1940s and the family spent time in Bath and Weymouth before the couple moved to Bradpole in 1973.

Ronald Murphy was given a send-off with a helicopter fly-past (Image: Barry Murphy)

He has remained in the west Dorset village near Bridport ever since and was given a fitting-send off there this week.

About 70 mourners, a mixture of family members and friends, travelled from far and wide to attend the service, including Mr Murphy's son Barry, who lives in Australia.

Mr Murphy was cremated at Weymouth Crematorium and his ashes will be taken by his son back to Australia, where he will be placed next to his late wife.

Barry said of the fly-past and service: "It was awe-inspiring the way it came together. As he flew over the church he gave the aircraft a bit of a 'communication wave'. 

"Everything was on time, almost to the second. It was very emotional, you really felt it. 

"It was very fitting and was what he deserved - we could not have done any less than this. 

"We had the minister who also gave the service for my late sister and mother, so he was a real pillar of strength and I wanted him to be there.

"I read my father's eulogy and said a few words to try and lighten it up a little bit. He did not want the fuss, but he got it. 

"I was blown away by the service, I had no idea there would be that many people. I just could not comprehend it."

Barry met some former friends and colleagues of his father at the service, including Daniel Taylor, a modelmaker who built a model of the D-Day landings for Mr Murphy back in 2016.

He added his 'massive appreciation' to the Royal Navy and Royal British Legion for their tributes to Mr Murphy.